Chapter Twelve: Cornered in the Dark
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It was night and the mission was done. Sasuke's ears picked up the sound of a night owl from a distance. It was hooting behind the naked branches that could barely withstand the cold now. Large yellow eyes stared at him for only a moment before the owl flew off south. Wind whistled through the gaps now, disturbing the layer of frost upon the branches. Dissonant sounds from night crickets rose up into the air from the dwarfish myrtles. Some flowers still adorned their branches despite the biting nature of autumn that came upon them each year . . . with enriched vengeance.
Sasuke walked for a few more minutes, nearly hidden under the thick of mist, when a little village slowly loomed into view. Two large fires waxed and waned in the distance. He was wearing a hood, his face hidden perfectly. He was there on a personal errand, well beyond the confines of Konoha life and his duty as a Shinobi.
Two large fires were burning at the gate. It was not a gate but more like an entrance created with two large logs put into the damp ground. These people were gypsies—or that was what people in the powerful Hidden (Shadow) Villages called them: a fancy term for what they thought to be misfits. They set up shop wherever they felt like and sent off pigeons to their customers: it was a place for prostitution and gambling.
A scraggy looking man with a bushy moustache stretched his arm to stop him. He was holding a large rusty sickle in his hand. Sasuke's eyes caught sight of a thick black glob clinging to its jagged tip. It was poisoned with Night Flower: the flower that produced the deadliest poison in the entire realm—no, second deadliest! Even a slight whiff of its wonderful scent was enough to give one a terrible fever and a pain that did not abate for weeks. Any direct contact with the blood vessels meant a sure shot trip to the other side. These people grew them in pots. Maybe that was why it was called the Hidden Night Flower Village? Maybe . . .
Puckering his lips, the scruffy man threw greenish spittle into the bushes in front. When he opened his mouth, Sasuke saw only five black teeth. His breath was so foul that he could smell it from five feet away.
"The token, young'un!" he said and wore a mean look on his messy face, ruined by time and bad hygiene.
Sasuke reached into his pocket and took out a gold token. He did not say anything and watched as the man showed him a grin full of jagged darkness and pulled back the sickle. "Ah, that rich customer," he said, still showing the gums in his smile, and looked over his shoulder at a small woman. "Yoshino, make sure he stays comfortable." He twirled the sickle's handle between his fingers, encrusted with blood and dirt. His fingernails were long and black—he was (probably) the dirtiest looking man Sasuke had ever seen.
As she approached them, her powdered face came into light: she was wearing a traditional dancer's makeup, and her long hair was gathered into a perfect twist. "Why don't you pull that hood back? I bet you're really beautiful," she simpered and strained her neck to take a good look at his eyes; the sight of gold had intensified her greed. When Sasuke remained silent, she smiled and turned around. "This way."
Sasuke followed her and walked past the flames that stood tall as monsters on the oils. As he passed through the gate, he noticed that it had been secured with a powerful Protection Barrier. Few Uzumaki women lived here as prostitutes and were famous for their Sealing Jutsus. The barrier probably paralysed anyone who tried to enter the village without the token.
Sasuke gave a sideways glance to the tents scattered about the large area: they were made from cloths so thick that only a little light escaped the tiny holes and frayed edges. Yoshino stopped by a large ridge-tent and gestured Sasuke to proceed inside. He did not give her another glance and lifted the heavy cloth to go in.
The inside was spacious, luxuriously decorated with fine mats and furniture. He gazed back, his eyes looking beyond the tent's fabric to see that Yoshino was gone. A red-haired woman sat by a low table with an expensive mahogany veneer. Her cheeks were rosy red, and she kept staring at him with a slack mouth.
Finally, after a moment, she gasped and smiled lovingly. "Sasuke!" she exclaimed and scrambled to her feet to clasp her arms about his waist. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I missed you!"
"You know I can't come here on your whims, Karin," he said, with a little irritation in his voice, and pulled back his hood.
Karin strained her neck and tip-toed to give him a peck on the lips. Sasuke's expression did not change. "You used to love fucking me," she teased and wore a gloomy expression on her countenance.
"I don't remember saying that," Sasuke said, with a curiosity as though he was thinking as to whether he ever said that or not, and pushed her back slightly to shrug off the large scruffy-looking cloak: it looked like a dirty rag a poor farmer would wear; his plain grey kimono and black hakama would not have made him stand out, either.
"You're mean!" Karin said, her tone musical, sat back down on the mat, and opened her legs wide.
"Is that why you called me here?" Sasuke asked with a subtle flick of his hand, looking down as she pulled at her kimono's collar to reveal a pert nipple. "I have better things to do. Don't waste my time. If you have nothing to show me, I'm leaving."
Karin sat up straight and let out a breathy sound. "Sasuke, don't—stay!" she said aloud and pulled a scroll from inside the vase that was sitting on the table. "I do have something." She held up the scroll, a seductive smile rising to her lips like the sun to the pellucid horizon.
Sasuke threw the cloak aside, sat down, took the scroll from Karin's hand. "This better be worth my time—and money," he said with a heavy accent. Then he stopped for a moment to gaze at the whorls on the cloth in front and bathed his eyes in a uniform red.
"I've checked. There's no one outside," Karin assured and sat down behind him. "Open it. I've been gathering Intel on Fū, like you asked. He comes here often—the limp bastard. I keep telling him that thickness isn't everything, but Sage knows, he cries till I don't give him herbs. The tiny thing just doesn't stand up otherwise." She laughed, nuzzling his neck and slipping her hand under the collar of his kimono.
Sasuke stopped halfway and turned his head to look at her and then proceeded to unroll it again. "I hope you've gathered more than your discovery that he's almost a eunuch," he said in an offhanded manner and ran his eyes down the scroll.
Karin broke into a loud laugh and propped herself on her knees. "Oh, Sasuke, you can be so cheeky!" she broke off and ran her fingers through his windblown hair. "I did everything you told me."
"I didn't tell you to sleep with him," Sasuke said and read the part that made his lips go dry.
"I didn't have to, but I did it for you," she gasped out the last word and planted kisses along his neck and clung as tightly as a child to him. "Aren't you proud of me?"
"He doesn't know anything?" he said in a low and dull voice, face warping suddenly, eyes filling with a delightful malice that seemed to make his lips quiver with excitement.
Karin laughed softly into his ear, her hair tickling his face and neck. "I used a Fuin-Jutsu seal on him—a little sake and herbs did the trick, too. No one can see the seal but me. He wrote this all by himself. Minato and your precious Hyūga clan? Not so innocent," she said and crawled her way around to sit down on his lap and straddle his waist. "You're proud of me, no? I would've done it for you without the money. You know I love you, don't you?"
Sasuke was smiling like a child now, running his fingers down her neck to remove the pendant she wore. "I need more on the Hyūga. He couldn't have known the whole thing," he said, softening his voice with effort, and watched her gasp as he teasingly pushed the fabric of her kimono aside to stroke the skin around her hard nipple, with his thumb.
"Only if you stay and fuck me—quid pro quo! No more games tonight!" Karin cooed and pulled her kimono down to her waist to reveal her sweaty breasts.
"He's still here, isn't he . . . spending the night with another harlot?" Sasuke asked without kindness and pulled out the sheath from under his belt—it still had his most trusted sword. "I wonder if he even remembers you. Your seals can make people a little clumsy." He emitted a short, soft laugh and pulled her closer in a way as though he was about to play a child's game of toys with her.
"You asked me to make it that way—so mean, Sasuke. Poor thing. Don't you worry—it'll disappear when he dies," Karin said with a smile that did not hide her wanton nature; she knew Sasuke was staying for the night!
Sasuke did not speak another word and allowed her to bend forward and claim his lips—her lips parted with a hungry desperation and longing for easy and quick passions . . .
It was like a ritual to him—a dull and routine ritual. His newfound revenge had consumed him so much that even the warmth of a woman's body did not calm his anger. (Revenge was a dangerous hobby; sex, an easy one!) Sasuke lay bare with Karin beside him under the sheets. He half-arose from the floor-bed and cast a quick look about the tent and beyond: he had never known his Sharingan to lie to him—it laid bare the trickery.
He gathered himself up to a sitting position and grabbed the discarded kimono and hakama when he heard an owl hoot loudly outside. His body was sweaty and hot; he felt a little feverish. Karin always liked to fool around a lot, and it took too much of his time. After carrying out team exercises and two missions today, this long, long physical session with her was hurting his back like the deepest, darkest corner of hell!
He almost never liked women to take the lead in bed, but it was impossible to play with Karin after a long day's work and not suffer for a day afterwards. The woman was crazy—body and mind. He vaguely guessed her adventurous nature to be a blessing of the Uzumakis' distinct Life Force, but he was not too sure of this wild guess. Who knew which devils made her tick!
With an enormous effort, he got to his feet, feeling a persistent pain right at the base of his spine. He ignored it defiantly, buried it deep under the blaze of his pride, and put on his clothes; but when he reached down to grab his sword, for a moment, the pain made him feel that his spine might break in half. He did not let it express itself on his face, albeit his blood-shot eyes looked miserable. Never again would he come here on busy days—never!
"Sasuke," said Karin dreamily from behind, "don't go. I want to play some more." She sat up and pushed down the sheets to reveal her naked body.
"You're not tired, but I am," he returned in irritation and frowned to make his point. "It would be day soon. I've put gold coins in the vase. I have to go."
"You can lie down—I'll ride you myself," she purred, licking her soft lips that still bore the hue of angry kisses.
Her radiant red hair, draped upon her shoulders in layers, shone brighter in the dimmer light inside the tent, and her naked body glistened visibly. On a normal night, this would have affected his loins, but now, the whole feeling disappeared like footprints in sand. He looked at her with an impassive face and heaved a sigh before picking up the dirty cloak.
"I want to join your team. You said I can!" she suddenly said and stood up, staring at him with a shy expression that was very unbecoming of her.
Sasuke stood in silence, mind racing, heart thumping out a wonderful tune for his spirit's delight: he could kill so many birds with so few stones. He drew the incense-filled air into his lungs and breathed out a loud breath. "Not until you leave this place," he said and kept his emotions trapped firmly underneath his skin that tingled with the formation of a nice and clever mind-game.
"But you know it's not that easy for me. I've got—"
"That's your business. You know the rules of recruitment. I can't keep a prostitute on my team. No one would allow it," he said in a less gentle tone and wore the cloak and pulled the hood over his head. "You can reach me if you change your mind." He pulled the mask up to cover half his face and left the tent in silence.
When he stepped out, darkness was still thick in the air. He looked to his left and found Fū talking to the guard. Karin had not lied to him: Fū always left when the owl hooted thrice outside his tent—the fool's animal-alarm-clock to finish himself off quickly. Sasuke kept his distance, wearing the talisman with a Fuin-Jutsu mark that sealed the scent and strength of his chakra for some time.
Fū looked his way; he was kneading his chakra to sense trouble. Sasuke's chakra was suppressed to a large degree, his scent gone. He must have appeared to be an ordinary man to him. Calm returned to Fū's face, and he walked out of the gate, beyond the secure barrier of the village.
Not hesitating, Sasuke followed him through the gate, night eating him whole. Sasuke's steps were firm, unrelenting, his resolve made: this forest would be Fū's grave! His path was flanked by the black forest, his eyes losing against the overwhelming darkness, but sparks of light flashed up in the sky and briefly illuminated his way. The moon was safely hidden, trapped under the storm's heaviness.
He could not see a thing now and relied on his Shinobi Senses. Fū was walking about fifty feet ahead. He had turned off his long-ranged Sensing. Dry leaves crackled beneath his sandals as he took quick steps towards the lights of a village about a mile away. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he sensed a strong, familiar chakra growing dangerously close to him.
Sasuke's chakra was too potent; the seal was failing to keep it suppressed; it was disappearing fast! If Sasuke did not make his move now, all was lost. With a sudden movement, Fū spun around and made a seal with his fingers to use Mind-Transfer Jutsu. It travelled in the direction of the hooded figure, Sasuke, standing under the luminescent throng of insects. He disappeared suddenly, leaving Fū alone for a mere second.
The seal vanished completely and released the monstrous chakra trapped underneath, and it flared out with full force. Cold sweat broke out, as though from the floodgates, on Fū body that, when the autumn wind crashed into his skin, it left a stabbing pain all over his body.
"Sasuke . . ." a tiny whisper escaped his lips and then his back crashed into a thick tree.
Sasuke's had his throat in his hand. He tightened his grip, causing Fū to gasp for air. "What did Minato find out about the daemon?" Sasuke hissed and pulled out the sword from its sheath, with a movement Fū could not even see! His eyes burnt with a distinct red that was alive, pulsing and whirling in the midst of whites.
"I bet you paid some woman—to-to get that out of me. Those Flower Village whores and their wretched seals. You won't get away with co-cornering me like this," he barely managed between grunts.
Sasuke lifted Fū up and tightened his grip some more around his throat. Then he slammed Fū's head thrice against the bark till his body almost went limp and watched with unkind eyes as blood trailed down the back of Fū's neck, staining his pretty blond hair red. "I won't ask you again," he warned, inching closer till the warm breaths from his lips blew over Fū's face. "What did he find out?"
Fū strained himself to look down and moved his hand quickly to make that same seal again. He was slower this time, slow enough not to see Sasuke move the tip of his sword and drive it straight into his hand, pinning it to the tree. A miserable grunt rose from Fū's throat as he tried to reach his pinned hand in vain.
He stopped moving and gulped, realising that the Fuin-Jutsu used by someone on him had removed the Root seal from his tongue. Sasuke had someone strong and talented working for him: an Uzumaki woman; but, for the life of him, he could not remember her! He closed his eyes; his fate was sealed; it was either this or the Sharingan Genjutsu.
"That—that some Uchiha's eyes were involved in the essence leaking out," he said from between his clenched teeth and stared down into the bewitching red looking at him from under the hood.
"Bullshit—don't fuck with me!" Sasuke spat at him, his fingers trembling with rage.
"I-It's the truth," Fuu gasped out and stopped to catch his breath, "Danzō gave Minato the evidence. He didn't question it—n-not once. I don't know anything else other than the one Mangekyō Sharingan he took from somewhere. Why he did it? I-I don't know. Please, I'm just a servant!"
"He took a Mangekyō Sharingan . . . ?" Sasuke said incredulously as if talking to himself. "I don't understand. Who did he take it from?" His grip slackened and his mind struggled to make sense of it all.
"I don't know. I-I swear it!" Fū sputtered and moved his free hand up to try and loosen Sasuke's death grip again.
"Stop lying. You know I can get it out of you easily. You have no dignity?" Sasuke asked and gazed at him with an expression of disgust upon his countenance, mingled with something of a smile.
Fū laughed in reply and coughed afterwards to pull in bits and pieces of air. "You Uchihas—proud," he grunted, gulped in the sweetest rain-teased air, exhaled loudly. "Your clan's dying—follow the Senju to the graves. It's only a matter of time when clans like ours—e-earn their right to rule. You can't even get rid of the dog you keep dragging along—w-whose ropes are pulled by Minato. He'd get you k-killed—if you survive this night!" he said with an improper ire flashing in his eyes as he turned his gaze around to peer into the darkness.
"Who're you looking for?" Sasuke asked and pulled down his mask and hood to reveal his bloodstained face. "Your companions are dead."
Fū's eyes frantically searched around, and when lightning cracked open the sky's blackest shell, they found two of his guards dead by a tree about fifteen feet away. Now, his heart was in a sudden grip of delicious fear, jumping against his ribs as if to free itself.
"You think I'm a fool?" Sasuke mocked and curled his lips to show him a sneer in the intermittent flashes. "You're exactly where you belong—feeding off the scraps of my clan. I'll make sure Yamanaka shame themselves in public and die out . . . unwelcomed and unwanted on the boundaries of Leaf—just like they did with my people—my father—my mother!" And he was shaking, anger unbound, like in breasts cut-open his beating eyes.
"No—wait!" Fū protested, but Sasuke's reds had already captured his senses and revealed to him his most vile secrets. His memories could not run far enough; they could not hide from his clairvoyant eyes.
He stood in a black and white world, shamed and humiliated before Sasuke. "I don't need you. Don't worry, Danzō won't miss you forever," Sasuke said in a resonating voice; and there was nothing but child-like glimpses of a nurturing death to be seen in his face.
Fū's eyes rolled back into his head, his scream unable to make it past his throat as Sasuke clove his neck clean through with a single stroke of his blade. Blood exploded out from his neck and splashed the side of Sasuke's face. He thudded to the ground, his whole body convulsing with the last currents of life skittering in him—unaware. After a couple of moments, he went still as a dead fish. He was gone.
Blood, fresh like spring, bubbled out of his cut-open neck and went about him without let. The seals Sasuke had placed on his guards would wipe their memories clean. He bent down and slapped one on Fū's forehead, too; it disappeared and rid his mind of any memories of Sasuke and his chakra.
Sasuke just stood there, holding his sword, his face without emotion and his fingers curled loosely around the hilt. Red turned to pink and rolled down the edge of the blade, which let nothing cling to its smooth surface. The next moment, rain came down hard; he leant his head back and closed his eyes to relish the feel of rainwater that cleansed his body of this necessary sin. (Blessed was his journey—blessed, the little Kami!)
He stood there for several minutes in silence, feeling the rain lash his face and drench his clothes. Fū's blood had washed away from his face and old clothes, lost in the ground. He would be forgotten in a few days, replaced by another Yamanaka dog for Danzō; but it did not matter to him. Danzō's grave was dug . . . and he would be the last one to stand over his corpse. He smiled to himself and walked away and left his venial sin behind . . .
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"Sasuke," Itachi asked tenderly and stroked Sasuke's messy hair, "did you . . . kill Fū?"
Sasuke twiddled his thumbs as if he was upset and then lifted his head to look up at his brother's face that was kind once it was cast in the image of a boy's face. His big innocent eyes, filled with such anger, pulled at boy Itachi's heart. "What if I did?" he said in a small voice, and his cheeks grew red with a child's fury.
"Why did you do it? You know it's not right," Itachi said and produced a small crane origami from his pocket, his tall menacing body flickering towards Sasuke's in the real world.
Sasuke took it from his hand and placed it in his lap. "I don't like him. He got our clan killed. He deserved to die!" he said aloud in rhythm with his quivering lips in the real world that were muted by a cold wash of illusions. In here, he was a child; out there, he was one, too!
Itachi intensified the Genjutsu to pacify Sasuke's fear and anger when he forcefully tried to jump out of his illusion. A little gasp escaped Sasuke's lips that were dry as dust now. The weight of Itachi's tricks was taking its toll on his mind—so much so that blood rose in his clear eyes.
"Nii-San, let me out!" Sasuke pleaded, panic scurrying across his small face that possessed the innocence of an unknowing child. He clung to Itachi and looked about with a heart that was fearful whilst darkness spread outward to approach him with soundless steps . . . waiting to swallow them both whole. In defiance, his real body tried to drag the slumbering Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to his eyes—unwilling to come over, they made him bleed, profusely. (Friends turned foes in desperate times!)
"Sasuke, calm your heart. I will not hurt you," Itachi assured with the eloquence of a man from a boy's mouth and quickly created crows from the darkness that flew everywhere. "I want to know. There has to be more to this. Tell me. Why did you do this?" And then he came closer and the vision became unbearable for Sasuke's mind and body. His small form shuddered, a lonely Lily in Winter's wind.
"Nii-Sama, will you kill me? Are you going to kill me?" Sasuke asked in a shaky voice, his clear tears changing in the illusion, his small white face soaked red with blood like a soft and porous cloth; he was ghastly!
Sasuke was not backing down and it was hurting him. Itachi stopped the illusion and sighed at the sight of bloody tears going down Sasuke's cheeks. His eyes trembled, and a moment later, darkness fell over them. He slumped down to his knees, exhausted, head bowed low before Itachi, as he sat shivering in his shadow.
He looked up when he felt Itachi's hand on his head. "You are stubborn," he spoke as if he was whispering. "Look what you have done now—gone off and made a little mess for your brother. Tell me this time, will you?" He stroked his hair very slowly, gazing down at him. There was a soft, fleeting look in his hard red eyes. It was fleeting but it was there.
Sasuke did not say anything. Lowering his head again, he pulled in a shaky breath. The room felt cold, sinister. His eyes roamed about, frantic in search of something, as though he was actually waiting for the crows to cross the weak barrier of his vision and come flying out of the darkness in the room to peck him to death!
"Clean your face," Itachi spoke in a manner of a command and left the room with slow steps.
Sasuke shuddered, his spine tingling. The shadow was gone . . .
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To Hinata, night was a mistress, cruel but playful. She lay alone in her bed. Sasuke had treated her so indifferently today. He did not even say a customary farewell. Naruto was not home—even Neji had to write reports. She felt so miserable tonight.
The window in the sitting room slammed repeatedly against the wall in the wind, but she did not close it. She was tired. Her ankle was better, but why was Sasuke so distant? It saddened her, and, without much of a reason, tears pricked her eyes. She wept silently, looking up at the ceiling covered in the greys of crooked trees, crafted by the moonlight.
Her gaze wandered the room aimlessly. She lay there for hours, finally exhausting herself to sleep. She did not even have an hour of peace when a warm breath on her face roused her out of sleep. She jerked her head up, frightened at the sight of Naruto staring down at her with a glow in his eyes. She could not see his face clearly, but his eyes—they were scaring the life out of her!
"N-Naruto-Kun?" she asked with hesitation and pulled the sheets up to cover her bosom.
Naruto lowered his head and sniffed at her face and bosom. Then, quite violently, he pulled the sheets off her and took a long and thoughtful whiff of a scent lingering on her. Hinata tried to move back, but, suddenly, Naruto grabbed hold of her wrist.
He leant his head forward and stretched out his neck; his hard face came into view, shining bright in the moonlight, marred by a primal hunger she had never seen before. "What's this smell on you?" he asked in a peculiar tone of voice that made a chill crawl up her spine.
She was alone, and Naruto did not look happy . . .
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EN: Yoshino was a popular name for prostitutes from the heights of the courtesans' hierarchy to the depths of the lowest brothels. It also shows up as a name for kamuros.
The Mind-Transfer Jutsu the Yamanaka Clan use literally, very literally, travels on the ground. It can be easily dodged by anyone with a half-decent speed. Sasuke, on the other hand, is a lightning fast character in canon.